American Idol 2014 Recap: Season 13 Top 11 Perform — March 12, 2014

Spring may have sprung across the U.S. this week but you know the real way you can tell the turn of the seasons? By how far along we are in American Idol.

Seeing as this year's installment —Season 13, if you hadn't heard — began in the depths of winter and will end right on the brink of summer, we think it's a pretty good measuring stick to use if a calendar isn't handy.

This week the Top 11 will take the stage and the show's got a little something special for us. The performance theme is "Songs From the Cinema," a much better choice in our books than last week's "Home." We mean, we get the whole "let's get to know these people" better angle but the song choices for "Home" were a little less than extraordinary. In fact, we're so excited about this week's choice that we already picked our song choices for each of the remaining contestants.

Tune to Fox tonight at 8 p.m. for the latest episode and then remember, there's a big scheduling shift set to debut tomorrow. The Thursday night result show will be airing an hour later at 9 p.m. That'll be its new time slot for the rest of the season with the episode going to just 30 minutes in a couple of weeks. Think of it like daylight saving time but for TV.

Live Recap Begins!

It's time to hear our Top 11 perform "Songs From the Cinema," which we couldn't possibly be more excited for. Okay, maybe it's because we're hoping someone performs "Let it Go" from Frozen, a la Adele Dazeem, but whatever.

Sam Woolf: "Come Together" — The Beatles from Across the UniverseAfter an adorable montage about how everyone is in love with Sam (and it's so true — he's so cute!) he performed The Beatles' "Come Together." It was a lot more lively than the one he gave us last week! But what do the judges have to say about it? They're pretty much thrilled, and also noticed how Sam's starting to loosen up and become more comfortable on stage — a major plus.

Jess Meuse: "Sound of Silence" — Simon & Garfunkel from The GraduateWhoever had the bright idea to get the contestants to mock each other was brilliant. A+. Those Jess imitations had us cracking up! Meanwhile, Jess is pulling out another song from the ol' set list, which is a bit risky, considering the fact that last week that didn't work out so well for her. Jess's vocals were good, but we were hoping to see more excitement from her this week. J.Lo notes that this song was a perfect choice for Jess, but she never "got her groove on" although she definitely thinks Jess can win, if she can find a way to get said groove on.

CJ Harris: "Can't You See" — The Marshall Tucker Band from BlowCJ's performing one of his favorite songs (and a classic), so we are expecting big things when he takes the stage! Sure enough, vocally, CJ's pulling out all the stops tonight and he sounds like he is totally feeling every word of this song. This guy is just so likable that we can't help but wish for the best for him. Neither can Jennifer — she's practically dancing her way out of her seat! Harry noticed, too. He's super pleased with the way CJ performed and says he is back at the front of this competition.

Dexter Roberts: "Sweet Home Alabama" — Lynyrd Skynyrd from Forrest GumpDexter completely rocked "Sweet Home Alabama," and with so many in the Top 11 from Alabama, we had a feeling this song would come up sooner than later. We're seriously impressed with how much the contestants are bringing it tonight after a few weeks of semi-lackluster performances! And Dexter's probably feeling pretty good tonight, considering the fact that he's finally starting to believe he's good enough to sing on the Idol stage.

Ben Briley: "Bennie and the Jets" — Elton John from 27 DressesBen — who is looking super sharp tonight — claims he's never seen 27 Dresses, but we think he's full of it. Either way, we love that he's showing us his piano skills, Elton John style, and he's picked such a fun song to do that with. Awesome choice not sitting at the piano the entire performance and giving the audience a taste of his energy. Unfortunately, the judges weren't crazy about the song choice since Ben's been all-out country so far... cue the audience booing.

Majesty Rose: "Let it Go" — Idina Menzel from FrozenIs this real life? Are we actually getting our wish? It looks like it! Majesty takes on "Let it Go," which she says must have been written especially for her. So how'd she do? She starts off a little slow, but really comes into her own as soon as the first chorus hits. The audience loves it despite some rough patches while Harry comments that her performance is strong and that she's on the right track. Keith loved it too and says he's got some little ladies at home that can't get enough of that particular Disney tune. Aww!

Caleb Johnson: "Skyfall" — Adele from SkyfallWe didn't ever imagine we'd see Caleb taking on an Adele hit, so this is definitely going to be interesting. He manages to pull it off — super high notes and all — but we just weren't quite as blown away as we were by the other contestants tonight. The judges, however, totally were. Keith even gave him a standing ovation, and the man does have a point: Caleb just proved he is completely unpredictable with that song.

MK Nobilette: "To Make You Feel My Love" — Bob Dylan from Hope FloatsWe're officially on Team MK. Tonight, she gave what we think is her best performance so far, showing off all types of vocal chops and star power. We love that she sang directly to the judges, too! Now that we're totally blown away by MK, what do the judges think? Their responses are all positive — no surprise there.

Alex Preston: "Falling Slowly" — Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová from OnceAlex, this song may have been your most perfect choice all season — ankle pants and all. He and his guitar are killing it tonight, no theatrics necessary.

Jena Irene Asciutto: "Decode" — Paramore from TwilightJena is so sparkly tonight! But will her performance be? She takes to the piano for a dramatic (and smoky) performance of a song she says she's wanted to perform since she got into the Top 30. Jena kills it — we never realized how similar her voice is to Hayley Williams's until now. The crowd is in love with her performance, and so are the judges. Keith described her as "ferocious," but in the best way possible, and J.Lo added that Jena is proving that she doesn't belong in the bottom three anymore. Yay!

Malaya Watson: "I Am Changing" — Jennifer Hudson from DreamgirlsMalaya's got the stage presence down tonight as she puts her own twist on old school — what she says is her main goal in her career. And not only does she sound amazing, but she looks awesome, too, and gives a performance that is so worthy of closing out the show. The judges are thrilled with what she brought to the stage tonight, and we are too.

Considering the fact that tonight's performances were the best we've seen all season, it's going to be a tough call for America to make when someone's eliminated tomorrow night! Can't wait to find out? Join us back here at the results show's new time — 9 p.m ET. See you then!